The present invention relates to an arrangement for ejecting objects from a projectile, a dispenser or the like, and more particularly to an arrangement for ejecting objects, for example submunition bodies, from a projectile of the type including a hollow projectile body having a nose end and a tail end, a plurality of objects (e.g. submunition bodies) disposed in a column within the projectile body, an ejection charge disposed within the projectile body at the nose end, and an ejection device including a hood enclosing a cavity and disposed within the projectile body between the ejection charge and an adjacent object of the column, with the hood having a wall with an opening facing the ejection charge so that, after ignition of the ejection charge, powder gases enter into the cavity for exerting a force against the adjacent object for ejecting the column of objects out the tail end of the projectile.
Such an ejection arrangement is disclosed, for example, in German Patent No. 2,738,031.C2, wherein there is provided a hood or cowling, which moves rearward over a short distance relative to the length of the projectile so as to eject the projectile base with the aid of an ejection plate. The ejection of submunition bodies then takes place only by means of the gas charging the ejection plate. The hood remains in the ogival portion of the projectile and throttles the gas stream by means of a channel opening provided in the hood wall.
It is a particular drawback of such prior art ejection devices that the gas stream required to eject the bodies is throttled. Particularly if the submunition bodies are very heavy, such ejection devices cannot be employed. Moreover, these ejection devices are relatively expensive because appropriate means must be provided at the hood and in the ogival portion of the projectile for the relatively short displacement of the hood.
It has been proposed to employ the hood itself to eject the submunition bodies either directly by using the edge of the hood to press onto the adjacent submunition body to be ejected, or indirectly by way of an ejection plate disposed between hood and the adjacent submunition body.
However, the particular drawback of such an ejection arrangement is that, after the ejection process, the hood and the last body ejected from the carrier projectile may easily collide. This danger is particularly great if the carrier projectile is spin stabilized because rotation of the projectile may cause the hood to be discharged in an uncontrolled manner.